Oregon Public Broadcasting

Some of the country’s leading companies are throwing their weight into the ongoing debate over healthcare.  AT&T, Wal-Mart, and Intel have joined a new coalition called 'Better Health Care Together.’

The group met in downtown Portland today to talk about how the escalating costs of healthcare are hurting American companies.  Bilal Qureshi has more.

Intel Chairman Craig Barrett joined representatives from state government and labor at a morning panel in downtown Portland.

He says the rising cost of insuring employees is making companies like Intel less competitive on the global stage

Barrett: "In a few years we’ll be spending over a billion dollars a year on healthcare just for our US employees. That’s a competitive issue with us. What we want is better healthcare performance at lower cost."

Barrett said the US needs to make the system more efficient… with medical records and prescriptions available online.

But others on the panel said the government should focus first on insuring the millions of Americans who still have no health coverage

The ‘Better Health Care Together’ coalition plans to hold another forum in Oregon next month.